The Frankenmuth School District has approximately 1,400 students, nearly 91% of whom are white. Its poverty rate is about 5 percent. By contrast, the Saginaw City School District to its west has nearly 5,200 students, 81% of whom are students of color. Its poverty rate is 50 percent.
This large economic and racial disparity between two neighboring Michigan school districts shows that school segregation continues into the 21st century.
That’s one of the main findings of the new study report By researchers at the New America think tank.
Over approximately 60 pages, researchers analyzed 24,658 pairs of districts that share a border.
They found that neighboring school districts differed in student poverty rates by an average of 5 percentage points. However, some pairs of neighborhoods, like Frankenmuth and Saginaw, revealed much higher levels of economic segregation, with poverty rates differing by about 45 percentage points.
Researchers note that the inequalities uncovered in the report are not inevitable. They are simply the product of government policy, and policies are subject to change, such as decisions to tie school funding to property.
“States do not need to continue making policy choices that entrench these deep divisions,” the researchers wrote. “There are better options: more comprehensive district maps, a fairer and smarter approach to raising school revenue, and a funding system that supports students based on community need rather than wealth.”
roots of racism
School district boundaries typically coincide with city boundaries. Because most school funding comes from property taxes, there can be disparities in funding even between neighboring school districts.
These disparities are due to contracts that prohibit homeowners from selling to black buyers, federally funded segregated development; “Urban regeneration” A policy of forcibly evicting black residents.
Researchers found that the modern-day effects of these policies still persist on Long Island, New York. There, the disparity between Brentwood Union Free School District and West Islip Union Free School District is one of the most segregated in the nation (ranked 34th among school districts). 100 most racist countries).
Brentwood students are 86% Latino and 35% English learners, while West Islip students are 82% white and 1% English learners, according to the report. Eleven percent of Brentwood University students live below the federal poverty line, which the report calls “a staggering number given the neighborhood’s economic resources.” Less than 3 percent of West Islip students live below the poverty line.
Despite receiving less funding from the state, West Islip’s wealth more than makes up the difference. Between state and local revenue, “Brentwood Union students receive approximately 71 cents for every dollar given to West Islip students,” according to the report.
But it doesn’t have to stay this way.
“Like the distribution of school funding, school district boundaries are a product of national policy,” the authors write. “State law dictates how these lines are drawn and the processes and requirements for changing them. You can change it.”
more money, more spending
In some cases, when state funding is taken into account, high-poverty school districts may receive more funding per student than their more affluent neighbors. However, students often have complex needs and families are more dependent on school for support.
The Wahluke and Kittitas school districts both operate in rural Washington state, about 160 miles southeast of Seattle. Student poverty rates are about 12 percent and 8 percent, respectively, but in the Wahluke School District students of color make up nearly 99 percent, compared to 23 percent for Kittitas students.
According to the report, the Wahluke area is home to taxpayers who are less likely to raise property taxes to support additional school funding, such as farm owners who don’t live nearby or residents of retirement communities. It is said that there is. Another funding challenge cited by the researchers is that residents who live in the country without legal permission are afraid to respond to the census, and “school districts receive less money through federal funding formulas.” amount will decrease.”
“Most of the students come from immigrant families who came to the area to work in agriculture,” the researchers say of the Waaluke School District. “School districts spend a significant portion of their budgets on bilingual education, translation services, and family engagement. Parents in many school districts come to the United States specifically to ensure their children receive a better education. The school has become the center of the community.”
Different solutions for each state
Researchers say solutions to the long-standing problem of inequality will need to be tailored to each state’s needs. One option is to change school district boundaries to create a better mix of areas with high and low real estate values. Another is to stop or limit the use of property taxes in funding schools, which could involve distributing funds at the state level or pooling property taxes between wealthy and poor districts. may mean.
“For too long, students have been educated by geographies of exclusion and difference,” the researchers conclude. “It’s time to draw the line.”
Inequality is more than just a number on a spreadsheet. Ultimately, they impact the lives and experiences of real students, like Saginaw High Schooler Julianne Morris.
His Michigan school district topped the report as economically segregated compared to neighboring Frankenmuth School District. The Frankenmuth School District’s website features a motto in bright red letters that reads, “Where hard work opens opportunities.” (Saginaw City School District appears on that list five more times because of its stratified poverty rate compared to other neighboring school districts.)
But from Julian’s perspective, it’s not the students’ efforts that really make the difference.
“Students in the city have a strong desire to succeed,” Morris explained in the report. “They want to make the most of their opportunities in school. But we don’t really get what we need to prepare for college or do well in college. We have a requirement of four years of math, three years of science, and a foreign language, but that’s just the basics, that’s the bare minimum.”